


Purgatory

by Peachy08



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Action, Bisexual Female Character, Dark, Drama, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Horror, Human Bill Cipher, Older Dipper Pines, Older Mabel Pines, Post-Gravity Falls, Post-Weirdmageddon, Purgatory, Romance, Slow Burn, mature - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-06 21:35:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17947529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peachy08/pseuds/Peachy08
Summary: It’s been five years after Weirdmageddon and the defeat of Bill Cipher.While traveling across the country as a Paranormal Investigator, Teresa Mayfort finds herself in the mysterious town of Gravity Falls.After she becomes the apprentice of Ford Pines and a employee of the Mystery Shack, a new threat looms around the corner.Things are starting to disappear, and it threatens not just Gravity Falls, but the World’s existence.Teresa and her friends must find a way to save the world, and the return of the being that tried to destroy the world in the past may be the key.However, he returns not in the way one would expect.(This fic is heavily inspired by the comic 'A Different Form, A Different Time' by the artist @wamaiiwoods on Tumblr and the fic 'A Different Form, A Different Time' by @videogamelover99 on AO3 )





	1. Prologue

The faint sound of whispering filled the empty void.

Bill Cipher opened his eye.

“What is this? Where am I?!” Bill asked as he looked around.

“I DEMAND-,” Bill snarled and snapped his fingers, but squinted his eye when his magic didn’t work

Bill stared at his hand, and then repeatedly started snapping his fingers in frustration.

“ _Bill Cipher._ ”

A powerful voice suddenly resonated from behind the floating yellow triangle.

Bill stopped his snapping and turned around to find a giant axolotl floating before him and staring at him with a placid expression.

“Ah! My good ol’ pal, The Axolotl! Why am I here?” Bill asked and straightened his black bow tie.

“ _You’re a liar, Cipher. You invoked my name,”_ The Axolotl said and suddenly began to glow harshly.

Bill rubbed his eye as he looked away from the amphibian.

“Jeez, put that away, big guy! I get it!”

The hot wave of light The Axolotl emitted ceased, and Bill looked back at the frilly pink creature.

“So, where are you sending me then?” Bill asked with a curious glare.

“ _To the place you last committed a crime, a place you can move down the ladder of your grime._  
_A different form. A different time.”_


	2. The Dream

_...”Teresa...”_

_...”Teresa...”_

 

Teresa Mayfort groaned and rolled over, still half-asleep as a soothing echoey voice surrounded her and a warm light washed over her face. Whatever she was sleeping on was plush and warm...and her eyelids felt so heavy. She just wanted to lay there forever.

“Mm...five more minutes,” Teresa grumbled and nuzzled her face into whatever soft thing she was slumbering on.

“ _Open your eyes child!_ ” The voice suddenly boomed, and the warm light tickling her face suddenly grew harsh and hot. 

The voice sent a vibration throughout Teresa’s entire body, and the bright light forced her eyes to flash open. The first thing Teresa saw was the vastness of space. Millions upon trillions of stars dotted the black void and brilliant splashes of color from countless galaxies encompassed her.

Teresa’s eyes widened in amazement and she quickly rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating. Looking down, she discovered that the infinitely comfortable thing she was floating on was a...beanbag chair?

“ _This way, child,”_ the voice said once again in a placid tone. The voice was strange, something Teresa had never heard before. It wasn’t male or female, and it seemed to come from everywhere at once. Teresa searched for the speaker, and when she turned around, the owner of the voice was definitely not what she was expecting. 

A giant axolotl floated before her.

Teresa was surprised, but not afraid or threatened. The enormous amphibian looked down at her kindly, and the warm light that emitted from its body sent a wave of tranquility over her.

 “Am I...dreaming?” Teresa asked groggily and once again went to rub her eyes. The situation was so...surreal. It felt like it had to be a dream or some weird hallucination. She didn’t remember taking any strange drugs or substances that would induce something like this. Yet, all of her thoughts seemed normal, and she had full control of her body.

The Axolotl chuckled heartedly, which sent a buzz of warmth through Teresa, like sipping a cup of hot chocolate.

“ _Something like that. No, this is your mindscape_ ,” the extradimensional creature said and turned it’s pink frilly head to look up at the starry void.

“My mindscape...? I think I’ve heard something like that before,” Teresa pondered as the Axolotl turned its attention back down to her.

“So why am I here? What are you doing here?” Teresa asked curiously and leaned forward in the squishy beanbag chair.

Suddenly, a tremor erupted throughout the galactic atmosphere like an earthquake. The Axolotl immediately took notice of this, and Teresa struggled to not fall out of the beanbag chair.

 _“Listen closely child, we don’t have much time. I have come to warn you that **he** is coming. You must keep _an open _heart and mind,”_ the Axolotl said as another large tremor shook the mindscape.

“What do you mean? Who’s coming?” Teresa asked and gripped the beanbag as a surge more powerful than the last ones erupted, and this time it did not stop. 

_“Sixty degrees that comes in threes._

_Watches from within the birch trees._

_Saw his own dimension burn._

_Misses home and can’t return._

_Says he’s happy. He’s a liar._

_Blame the arson for the fire._

_If he wants to shirk the blame,_

_He’ll have to invoke my name._

_One way to absolve his crime._

_A different form, a different time.”_

As The Axolotl delivered its cryptic poem, it’s body began to pulsate with more bright light, and to Teresa’s astonishment, began to dissolve into sparkling stardust and disappear into the void.

“Wait! Come back! I have more questions!” Teresa shouted and raised her hand to grab hold of the creature, but found that her hand just slipped through the shimmering stardust. The tremors became more violent, and the galactic atmosphere began to crack and fall into pieces like shattered glass. A thick, inky black substance began to ooze through the cracks and coat everything in darkness.

Teresa was roughly knocked out of the beanbag chair and into the pitch black liquid. The goo immediately stuck to her and began to drag her down into an unknown abyss.

“Help! Somebody!” Teresa yelled and struggled to get out of the adhesive muck, but no matter how much she struggled, she continued to be pulled down like quicksand.

The last thing she heard before her head sunk under was high-pitched maniacal laughter.

 

* * *

 

 Teresa woke with a jolt and screamed at the top of her lungs. Her heart was beating a hundred miles per hour, and cold sweat coated her forehead. She let out a sigh of relief when she looked around and realized she was not drowning in some sort of nightmare void but was safe in her bed.

 A loud tapping on her RV window caused her to jump and turn her head. She glared at the woodpecker that was loudly pecking on the glass.

 So _that’s_ what woke her up.

 Annoyed and still slightly shaken by her vivid dream, Teresa flipped the lever on the window and slid it open.

 “Get out of here you stupid bird! My RV is not made out of wood!” Teresa yelled and shook her fist at the feathery pest. The woodpecker gave an alarmed, shrill chirp and flew back into the surrounding woods.

Teresa sighed as a cool breeze tickled her face. Even though it was the middle of summer, it was cool in Gravity Falls, Oregon.

 Not that she was complaining, she was used to the sticky summer heat of Louisiana, and a change in weather was nice. It also meant could wear jeans and jackets without drowning in sweat.

 Closing the window and glancing at the alarm clock next to her bed, she saw it was exactly 9:00 am.

 “Perfect, lots of time to get ready,” Teresa said to herself with a smile and walked the short distance in her bare feet to her small bathroom.

 The RV she lived in was small, but it was perfect for one person. Not that she spent that much time inside it anyways, she mainly just used it to sleep and shower.

It was your typical RV design, nothing too special. When you walked in you were immediately greeted by the driver's seat, and behind that was a moderately sized couch facing a small TV on the opposite wall (which she never used because she had a laptop to watch shows on). Adjacent to the couch was a compact table with two chairs, and across from that on the same side of the TV was a tiny kitchen area with minimal counter space, a small sink, a stovetop, a microwave, and a medium sized fridge. Storage inside the RV was limited, but Teresa didn’t mind because she didn’t own many possessions.

A short hallway past the kitchen branched off into the bathroom, which was the smallest room and reminded Teresa of teeny Japanese apartment restrooms. At the end of the hallway was her bedroom, which contained a queen-sized bed, a nightstand with a reading lamp, and a closet that contained the few articles of clothing she owned.

 After a quick shower, Teresa walked back into her bedroom in a towel and sifted through her wardrobe. It was strange that even though she didn’t own many articles of clothing, it was still hard for her to decide what to wear.

At last, she decided on a pair of ripped high waisted blue jeans with a brown leather belt tied around, a white t-shirt that read ‘SAVE THE BEES’ in mustard yellow lettering with a design of a bee in the middle, and a red baseball cap. Sitting down on her bed and tying the laces of her black Doc Marten boots, Teresa studied herself in the full-length mirror attached to the door of the closet.

 Her shoulder-length, thick, curly, black afro hair poofed out under the baseball cap like cotton candy. Her forest green eyes stood out from her chocolate skin, freckled face, thick eyebrows, and full lips. Standing up and fully checking herself out in the mirror, she smiled in approval at the way the jeans hugged her curves.

She flashed herself finger guns and a wink before walking out of the room.

 Before walking out of the RV doors, she caught sight of the black police force jacket thrown over the driver’s seat.

“Almost forgot about you,” Teresa hummed and grabbed the jacket. She slipped her father’s oversized jacket on as she exited the RV.

 The morning sunlight made her eyes squint as she hopped down the RV steps and into the small clearing the vehicle sat in.

She could make out the outline of the Mystery Shack not far away through the birch trees.

 It was strange that she had only arrived in Gravity Falls in the early spring, and yet it felt like she had lived here her entire life.

 She was originally stopping to stay in Portland, Oregon after traveling across the country in search of supernatural subjects to research, but somehow she found herself in Gravity Falls.

It was as if some sort of otherworldly force possessed her, and before she knew it, she had driven all the way to the small isolated town without any recognition of driving or planning to go there in the first place.

 Teresa at first found the locals to be strange, but they were friendly enough to point her towards the Mystery Shack when she asked about anything that was unusual in the town (despite everything in Gravity Falls being unusual in the first place).

 When she first visited the Mystery Shack, she was immediately disappointed. She quickly discovered it was just a run-down tourist trap with tacky attractions and overpriced merchandise.

As she was toured around the shack by an odd man-child wearing a ridiculous red fez cap (who she would later come to know as Soos Ramirez) with a group of gullible tourist, she grew impatient and snapped when he began to tell all the wrong facts about Centaurs. Before she knew it, she had cut him off and began to ramble actual true facts about Centaurs and other mythical creatures she had encountered on her journey through America.

By the end of the tour, the tourists had all surrounded her to listen to her tales, which was much to Soos’ dismay as he awkwardly watched from the back of the crowd as she stole his show.

 But before she could walk out the Mystery Shack’s door and drive away in her RV while flipping Gravity Falls off for wasting her time, an elderly man she had not noticed before pulled her aside.

 His name was Stanford “Ford” Pines, and he had overheard everything she said.

 After sharing her journals and sketchbooks that she kept all of her findings in, he revealed that he was an actual scientist and paranormal investigator like herself. Apparently, Gravity Falls had a huge concentration of supernatural activity in and around the town, and he had been studying it for years.

 That night over dinner they discussed their research and experiences, and that turned into him asking her if she would like to stay for a while and apprentice under him. Teresa was thrilled and gladly accepted his offer. She had recently hit a dead end in her research, and running into an experienced paranormal investigator to learn from was like striking gold. Ford offered that Teresa could park her RV in a small clearing close to the shack, and after that, she quickly settled into the peculiar town of Gravity Falls, Oregon.

 After a short walk, Teresa was standing outside of the Mystery Shack. The place was in no better condition than when she first laid eyes on it. The place was in terrible need of a paint job and the letter S in Shack was laying on the roof.

(Seriously, how hard was that to fix?).

 She was distracted by a goat chewing on an empty can of brown meat nearby when a young male voice called out her name.

 “Hey, Teresa!” Dipper Pines greeted from where he was sitting on a bench in front of the Shack. The boy smiled at her as he closed the notebook he had been writing in.

 Dipper was your average teenage boy with a normal build and height. His signature blue and white cap with a blue pine tree in the center covered his short brunette hair. He always wore a pair of jeans with some sort of flannel and a t-shirt that always read some kind of nerdy phrase. Today he wore a gray NASA shirt with paired a red flannel. After graduating high school, Dipper was a permanent resident in Gravity Falls and was preparing to take over his uncle Ford’s profession.

 When Dipper and his twin sister Mabel arrived at the beginning of the summer to stay at the Mystery Shack with their uncles, they were surprised to see Teresa her. Apparently, it wasn’t normal for someone to move in next door or for the town to get new residents that weren’t temporary tourists.

 Teresa quickly got along with Dipper, and the two had been apprenticing under Ford harmoniously together. Ford was thrilled to have two eager apprentices to pass his knowledge onto. He often reminded them that he was getting too old for his line of work and needed someone to take over in the future.

 “Hey, Dips!” Teresa said with a smile as she called Dipper by the nickname she gave him. It was funny because Dipper was his nickname, so it was like a nickname of a nickname.

 “Wow you look tired- I-I mean not that looking tired is a bad thing! You always look good!” Dipper stuttered as his face turned cherry red.

It was painfully obvious that Dipper had a crush on Teresa. But she did not return his feelings. She was 21 and he was 18, not that three years made much of a difference, but it was still a gap. She saw Dipper as more of a younger-brother figure, and according to his twin sister, Dipper had a bad habit of falling in love with girls that were older than him.

 Teresa chuckled and playfully punched Dipper’s shoulder, perhaps a little too hard as Dipper winched and rubbed the spot she punched, or perhaps because he was a total wuss.

 “Yeah, I had a bad nightmare. I also stayed up late last night doing that research your Uncle asked me to do,” Teresa explained and took a small flash drive out of her jacket pocket.

 “A nightmare? Maybe you should tell me about it,” Dipper asked and glanced at the empty spot on the bench he was sitting at.

 “Maybe later, I don’t want to keep Ford waiting,” Teresa said and opened the creaky door to the shack.

 Dipper sighed when he was shut down on having one-on-one alone time with Teresa. He got up to follow her inside.

 When she entered the Mystery Shack’s gift shop, the first person Teresa saw was Stanley “Stan” Pines (Ford’s twin brother) counting a thick wad of cash behind the counter.

 “Morning Stan,” Teresa said with a lazy wave as she walked past him and towards a vending machine.

 “Mornin’ Freeloader,” Stan said without looking up from his counting.

 Teresa froze in her tracks at the insult. Stan was the only person she disliked who lived in the Mystery Shack. To her, he was a grumpy old man who took no shame in scamming people and just being a huge pain in general. When Ford introduced Teresa to his twin brother, Stan took an immediate disliking towards her. He claimed that she was mooching off of them by staying on their property and learning from his brother’s precious knowledge for free. An argument did eventually erupt between the brothers, and it ended with Teresa agreeing that she would work at the Mystery Shack’s gift shop and help around whenever needed.

 “Stop calling her that Gruncle Stan! She works here for you and Ford, _and_ she is my friend,” Dipper scolded and crossed his arms.

 “Oh, so _I’m_ the bad guy for calling the pretty lady what she is. Heed my words nephew! It’s always the pretty ones that use their looks to get what they want! Believe me, I know from experience,” Stan said and shoved the cash into his pocket.

 Teresa had enough and turned around on her heel.

“Well, at least I’m not a slimy, old, smelly, dishonest, selfish, rude-,”

 “WADDLES! WHERE ARE YOU WADDLES?!” A bubbly female voice suddenly shouted and cut Teresa’s rant off.

 Mable Pines entered the gift shop with an overstuffed, pink, bedazzled duffel bag in her hands. Brightly colored fabric and crafting materials hung out of it as she lugged it behind her.

 Mable was one of the most energetic and nicest people Teresa had ever met. Her long brown hair was up in a ponytail, and the rainbow sweater, high waisted jean skirt, and large hoop earrings she wore today was a perfect match to her vibrant personality.

 This was the last summer Mabel would stay in Gravity Falls before going to a prestigious art school back in California. She was extremely talented and planned to major in fashion design. Teresa saw a bright future for her.

 “Oh, there you are Waddles!” Mabel said and picked her pet pig out of a box of t-shirts, “You silly piggy! Taking a nap on the merchandise again...oh hey Teresa!” Mabel said and smiled excitedly when she noticed her friend.

 “Hey, Mabel! What’s all that stuff you got there?” Teresa asked and eyed the overflowing duffel bag.

 “I’m doing a photo shoot of clothing line I designed for pigs today with Candy and Grenda! It’s all about humanizing pigs and showing people that they are friends and NOT food!” Mabel rambled passionately.

 “Hey! Nothing is going to stop me from eating bacon, not even some inspirational artsy political project! Also, you are supposed to work the gift shop this afternoon You can’t just ditch!” Stan scolded and folded his hairy arms.

 “Oh yeah...I forgot about that,” Mabel said with a disappointed look in her eyes and looked at the ground.

 “I’ll work the shop for you!” Teresa offered without skipping a beat. Mabel was like the adorable little sister she never had, and seeing her sad made her sad.

 “Oh my god thank you, Teresa!! You’re the best!!” Mabel squealed and wrapped Teresa in a big hug.

 “No problem,” Teresa said with a chuckle and plucked a piece of glitter out of Mabel’s hair.

 A honking from outside caused Mabel to whip around and pick the duffel bag and Waddles off of the floor.

 “That’s my ride! See you cool cats later!” Mabel said and sprinted out of the gift shop.

 Teresa’s attention was turned to Dipper as he tsked and shook his head.

 “I swear she never thinks things through, and now you have to work on your night off!” Dipper complained.

 “Meh, I don’t mind. Not that the Shacks going to be busy tonight anyway,” Teresa said with a shrug.

 “Actually, we have three tour buses coming in this afternoon, so you better be on time!” Stan said with a smug grin.

 Teresa groaned and felt like slamming her head against the vending machine. The current owners of the Mystery Shack, Soos, and Melody Ramirez were gone on their honeymoon backpacking in Europe, and a former employee, Wendy Corduroy, was spending the summer in Portland with her boyfriend. That only left Teresa and Dipper (when they were not busy assisting Ford), Mabel, and Stan as the only workers, and there was no way in hell Ford was going to entertain tourists. Stan often complained about how he had to come out of retirement and work, but it was obvious that he still enjoyed and missed running the Mystery Shack and stealing brainless tourist’s money.

 “Don’t worry, I’ll help you tonight Teresa,” Dipper quickly offered with a smile.

 “No you won’t Dipper, I need your help this afternoon gathering samples in the forest,” Ford suddenly cut in.

 Everyone turned around at Ford’s sudden appearance in the doorway. Just how long had he been standing there?

 “Aw man...I want to help collect samples...,” Teresa sighed. This was what she got for being generous.

 “Ha! Too late! You're stuck with me tonight Free Loader!” Stan laughed.

 Teresa just rolled her eyes and turned back to her mentor.

 “Anyways, I have that data you asked me to get Mr. Pines. But I was wondering why-,” Teresa said but was cut off by Ford raising a six-fingered hand.

 “We’ll discuss that down in the lab,” Ford said and typed in a code on the vending machine. A clicking sound was heard from within the machine, and the front half containing the various snacks slid open to the side, revealing a secret passageway.

 When Teresa first saw the secret passage, she was amazed, and never would have guessed a secret lair was hidden beneath that shack, but now it was completely normal to her.

 “Have fun doing nerd stuff down there, nerds!” Stan teased as Teresa and Dipper followed Ford inside.

 After a short elevator ride down to the lab, Teresa handed Ford the flash drive, who plugged it into his computer.

 “So why exactly did you want me to gather all of our paranormal sightings throughout the years and compose it into a map?” Teresa asked and leaned against the counter while looking around the lab.

 The underground lab was impressive. It was filled with lots of high-grade technology and inventions. Jars of samples (some living, some dead) sat on the shelves and bookshelves lining the walls were jam-packed with books and papers.

 “I have a concerning theory, and I’m hoping it’s not correct,” Ford said as he typed on his computer.

 “Uh-oh, that doesn’t sound good,” Dipper said with a frown.

 After a few minutes of Ford typing, he leaned back in his chair with a groan and pinched the bridge of his large nose.

 “What? What is it?” Teresa asked as her and Dipper both leaned in to look at the screen.

 “No...don't tell me...,” Teresa said and put a hand over her mouth in shock.

  Dipper gasped.

 “I’m afraid so. Everything supernatural and all things weird are disappearing. It started when I noticed the gnomes disappearing one by one four years ago, but it’s slowly starting to spread fast. Now the mermaids and pixies are starting to disappear. Which means, if my hypothesis stands corrected, we are all in danger,” Ford explained with a serious look on his face. It was a look that Teresa had come to learn meant that shit was real.

 “But why? What’s causing it?” Dipper asked and studied the new map on the computer screen closer. It was a newly combined map of the supernatural sightings compiled throughout the past years compared with a current map. The difference between the two was drastic.

 It was true, things actually were disappearing.

 “I’m...I’m not sure. All I know is that it started shortly after _Weirdmageddon_. I believe it has something to do with the Nightmare Realm and our dimension clashing,” Ford said and shook his head.

 This caused Dipper to flinch, which made Teresa frown.

 She was not living in Gravity Falls when Weirdmageddon took place. All she knew about it was the few things Ford told her and Dipper’s stories. The Pines family didn’t like talking about the traumatic event, and apparently, it scarred the townspeople to the point that they vowed to **NEVER** speak of it again.

 “Well, how do we fix it?” Teresa asked, breaking the solemn silence.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out. All of my calculations have led nowhere...and that’s why I need both of your help,” Ford said and looked at his two apprentices determinedly.

 “We saved the world before, and we can do it again!” Dipper said with a smile.

 “I and Dips are on the case!” Teresa said enthusiastically.

 “Yeah! We’re like Sherlock and Watson!” Dipper said and high-fived Teresa.

 “And for the record, I’m Sherlock,” Teresa said with a smirk.

 “Hey, that’s not fair!” Dipper huffed.

 “Sorry buddy, you’re totally Watson,” Teresa teased with a laugh and pulled Dipper’s cap down over his eyes.

 “Hey!” Dipper yelped and frantically went to fix his hat.

 Ford chuckled as he watched the friendly banter.

 “Alright kids, let's get to work. The world is depending on us,” Ford said and turned back to his computer.

 The rest of the morning consisted of Ford and Teresa going through data on the computers, while Dipper poured through book after book on the rows of shelves.

 Eventually, the afternoon arrived, and Teresa had to go back upstairs to work her dreaded shift at the gift shop.

 The afternoon went as long and painful as she predicted. The tourists were annoying and she even had to clean up some kid’s puke who decided that eating twelve expired candy bars was a good idea, which caused him to hurl all over the snow globes.

 At last, it was 9:00 pm and all of the tourist left on their buses. Teresa was exhausted and dragged herself back to her RV. After heating up a cup of instant ramen, she collapsed onto the couch and began to shovel the warm, plastic-tasting noodles into her mouth.

 Her day had been hectic, and she scolded herself for forgetting to ask Ford to explain to her what a ‘mindscape’ was again. The nightmare she had last night was still bothering her, and the news Ford gave her about the world falling apart did not help.

 She made a mental note to check out the samples from the forest that Ford and Dipper had collected this afternoon tomorrow morning.

 After finishing her dinner, she decided to crash on the couch and watch a few episodes of ‘Parks and Recreation’ on Netflix to cheer her up. She was in the middle of the episode where the characters all went on a hunting trip when she suddenly heard a knock at the RV door.

 Teresa frowned and paused the episode on her laptop. It was 11:30 at night...who the hell would be visiting at this hour?

 Another loud knock was heard and Teresa got up, allowing the fluffy blanket that was wrapped snugly around her to fall to the floor. She quickly unlocked one of her kitchen cabinets and retrieved a handgun from it.

(What? She was a woman who lived by herself and the forest was full of dangerous creatures. It was better to be safe than sorry).

 Another knock was heard, this time louder than the last two as Teresa slowly approached the door and turned the handle with her gun at the ready.

 Teresa cracked open the door and was relieved to find a friendly familiar face.

 “Jesus Christ Dips, do you know what time it is? Why didn’t you just text me?” Teresa sighed and fully opened the door.

 Even in the dark, Teresa could tell that Dipper was flustered.

 “S-Sorry! I was just- hey is that a gun?” Dipper asked and glanced at the handgun Teresa was holding.

 “Uh, no?” Teresa lied and scolded her own paranoia as she tossed the gun onto the passenger seat of the RV.

 Dipper’s brown eyes lit up.

“Can you teach me how to shoot sometime? I’ve asked Uncle Ford, but he refuses-,”

 “Sure...maybe. So why exactly are you knocking on my door and almost giving me a heart attack in the middle of the night? Do your Uncles know you're here?” Teresa asked and squinted her eyes at Dipper.

 “Aw come on Teresa, it’s not even that late! And no, they don’t. I couldn’t sleep because I kept thinking about the whole ‘everything is randomly disappearing thing.’ I did some more research and I think I found somebody or _something_ that could help us, and I need your help,” Dipper said with a smile as he presented journal number 3 to Teresa from behind his back.

 Ford’s journals were destroyed in the past during Weirdmageddon, but his brother Stan was actually smart enough to make copies of all of the pages.

 Now they had three brand new journals with multiple copies of each.

 “Ok Mr. Mysterious, I’ll help you. Let me just gather my things quick,” Teresa said and disappeared back into the RV. After grabbing her jacket, backpack, and slipping on her boots, she met Dipper outside and began navigating through the forest with their flashlights.

 “So are you going to spill the beans or keep on being sneaky?” Teresa asked and glanced at him. It wasn’t like Dipper to be so secretive and...he seemed nervous.

 “Alright, so while I was going through the books down in the lab, this piece of paper fell out of one of the books, and I realized it was a missing page from the journals. Ford is personally against summoning things, so we have to do it behind his back,” Dipper said and took the torn piece of paper out of the journal and handed it to Teresa.

 Teresa took the paper and shined her flashlight over it as she read it over. There was a description in a foreign language and a sketch of what appeared to be a...salamander? Wait no, it was an Axolotl! Like the one she saw in her dream!

 Teresa stopped in her tracks and gawked at the paper.

 Dipper also stopped and looked back at Teresa curiously.

 “I know this thing! Well, I don’t know it, but I saw it in my dream last night, the nightmare I mentioned to you this morning!” Teresa blurted and looked up at Dipper, who still had a puzzled expression on his face.

 “But...how? What happened in your dream?” Dipper asked.

 “It’s kind of fuzzy...but I remember waking up in space in a beanbag chair for some reason, and this giant axolotl was there. It was really nice and told me that this wasn’t a dream, but my ‘mindscape.’ But then it warned me that something was coming...and then it recited a really strange poem,” Teresa said and studied Dipper’s expression, who was still looking at her with the same confused expression.

 “You think I’m crazy, don’t you?” Teresa groaned.

 “No! No! I was just wondering why you considered that a nightmare,” Dipper said and scratched his chin.

 “Well...It was more towards the end that was scary...,” Teresa said with a sigh.

 “Do you remember the poem? Maybe it was trying to tell you how to fix our problem!” Dipper said excitedly.

 “Not really...kind of?” Teresa said, wishing she would have written everything down right when she woke up.

 “That’s alright! That’s why we are summoning it now. The Axolotl is known as an ‘All Knowing’ being that lives in ‘the time and space between time and space.’ My uncle encountered it once when he was stuck in the other dimensions,” Dipper said and looked around the clearing they were standing in.

 “This should be far away enough, and it’s almost midnight. We better hurry!” Dipper said and began to dig through his backpack.

 “Let’s get some answers!” Teresa said with a smile and began to help him set up for the summoning ritual.

 Soon candles were lit in a circle, ancient symbols were spray painted on the ground, incense was burning, and an offering of jellybeans was placed in the circle...wait.

 “What’s with the jellybeans?” Teresa asked with a bemused smile.

 “Apparently it likes jellybeans. I don’t know, I’m just following the instructions,”Dipper said with a shrug and sat on the opposite side of the summoning circle as Teresa.

 “Alright, are you ready for this?” Dipper asked and cracked his knuckles.

“Ready as I’ll ever be, dear Watson,” Teresa teased with a smirk.

 “Yeah whatever,” Dipper said with an eye roll and opened the journal.

 “Call me Sherlock.”

 “What? No.”

 “Do it.”

 “We don’t have time for this!”

...

 “Fine! Let’s do this Sherlock,” Dipper said in defeat.

 Teresa chuckled and looked down at the piece of paper.

 Teresa closed her eyes and began to chant the ancient language inscribed on the page, and Dipper followed in sync.

 The wind suddenly began to pick up and blew the candles out. Teresa opened her eyes and was shocked to see that the world was drained of color and it felt like there was heavy pressure on her, like gravity was malfunctioning and time had slowed down.

 “Haha! It’s working!” Dipper cheered and looked around excitedly.

 Suddenly, there was a cosmic rip in the air between them in the shape of a triangle with yellow flames brightly burning around it.

 “What...no, no, no no no NO NO!” Dipper suddenly shouted and scrambled backward with his eyes wide with fear.

 “What's wrong Dipper?” Teresa asked in a concerned tone and began to scoot away as the candles began to float in the air and an eye suddenly appeared in the cosmic rip.

 A powerful gust of wind caused both Dipper and Teresa to fall on their backs as a black figure emerged from the rip in space.

 Teresa watched in amazement as the floating triangle-shaped figure suddenly gained color.

 It was a literal yellow triangle with a single eye. It wore a black top hat and a bowtie, like a man from the 16th century.

 Teresa’s eyes suddenly widened in recognition. She had seen pictures and symbols of this thing before and had read all about it.

 It was the bringer of Weirdmageddon, the ruler of the Nightmare realm, the destroyer of worlds.

_Bill Cipher._

 The interdimensional triangle looked around at its surroundings with its one beady eye.

 “Gravity Falls! I’ll admit, it’s not so good to be back!” Bill Cipher said and looked down to only lock eyes with Dipper.

 Teresa winched at the being's voice, it was loud and ear-piercing.

 “Does my _EYE_ deceive me?! My old meat sack?!” Bill exclaimed and floated down to Dipper.

 Dipper let out a panicked scream and scooted farther away from the flying geometric shape.

 “Wow, you look older! But still as pathetic as ever!” Bill said with a laugh and suddenly turned around to face Teresa.

 Teresa felt her heart stop.

 “Hey! Your new Honey Bee! How did you get stuck with Pine Tree over here? Yikes,” Bill said with another piercing laugh.

 Teresa’s face scrunched up in confusion as the demon called her _‘Honey Bee.’_

 Wait, Teresa looked down at her ‘SAVE THE BEES’ t-shirt with a design of a bee in the middle. Was he seriously referring to her by her attire? And did he just seriously just called Dipper ‘Pine Tree?’

 Bill suddenly stopped laughing and looked down at his black hand.

 Teresa and Dipper watched in horror as his hand began to distort and his shiny yellow surface began to crack.

 “What...?” Dipper gasped.

 Bill whipped around to face Dipper and glared down at him.

 “You!! You- **AUGH!** ” Bill yelled and held his hands up to his triangular body. The outside of the demon’s body began to peel off and a fleshy mass began to grow out of him from the inside out and consume his body. His one eye split into two as the fleshy mass fell to the ground.

 Throughout the entire process, Bill’s haunting screams of pain filled the dark woods.

 “Ew...” Dipper gagged and winched as he watched the horror show take place.

 Teresa felt like she was going to hurl as she watched the fleshy mass grow arteries and organs, and then flesh and bone. Anatomy class did not prepare her for this.

 Almost as fast as Bill Cipher was a literal floating triangle a second ago, he was now transformed into a human man.

 The man that stood in front of Teresa andDipper was very tall and lanky. His skin was a caramel tan tone and his light blonde hair was short, and messy strands of it hung over his face. His eyebrows were brown and sharp and his nose was strongly beaked.

 When his new human form had completed transforming, the world regained its color and the heavy pressure was lifted off of Teresa’s chest.

 Bill was shaking and breathing heavily, and opened his eyes to reveal brilliant yellow scleras and black slit pupils, like cat eyes. But the most shocking part about Bill’s new appearance was that he was completely butt naked.

 “Dude cover up!” Teresa said and looked away with her hand raised.

 Bill silently looked down at his newly formed hands with a shocked expression on his face.

 Dipper and Teresa took this as a chance to stand up and ready themselves for anything to come next.

 “Goddammit! I should have known that the page was written by Bill! It was one of his tricks to get people to summon him! And now I brought him back from the dead!” Dipper stressed and angrily threw the journal to the forest floor.

 “Yeah but...why is he like that?” Teresa asked and gestured to Bill as she looked at him in disbelief. She still could not process what the hell just happened.

 “I-I don’t know! We have to take him back to Ford, he’ll know what to do,” Dipper said and glared back at Bill.

 The mention of Ford snapped Bill out of his state of shock.

 “No! Wah-!” Bill yelped and suddenly tripped over on his own feet and fell to the ground with a thud. It was like he wasn’t used to walking on two feet or something.

 “There’s no way in hell your taking me to Ford kid!” Bill said in an almost panicked tone and scrambled to his feet. He then turned to run into the woods but was met with Teresa.

 Teresa took no time to block Bill’s path and punch him **hard** across the face with her fist to prevent him from fleeing.

 Bill let out a surprised gasp and fell back to the ground from the blow.

 Teresa had knocked him out cold.

 Teresa looked up from Bill at Dipper, who was now gawking at her.

 “What? I wasn’t just going to let the psychotic little prick get away,” Teresa huffed and rubbed her pulsing fist. That hurt more than she thought it would.

 “You’re a badass.” was all Dipper managed to say.

 “I know,” Teresa said with a grin.

 After recovering from the whole traumatic experience, Dipper began to dig through his backpack and pull out some clothes.

 “He’s lucky I always carry a pair of spare clothes with me,” Dipper said and tossed an X-Files t-shirt over to Teresa.

 “That’s because your always overly prepared,” Teresa teased and tried her best to pull the shirt over Bill’s head. It was hard dressing an unconscious body, especially with how limp he was.

 Teresa made Dipper pulled the pair of black sweatpants on Bill because the whole situation was already awkward enough for her. Dipper’s clothes were way too small on Bill, but it did the job to provide him some dignity.

 “I’ll get the legs, you get the arms,” Teresa said and gripped Bill by his ankles.

 Dipper nodded and hooked his arms under Bill’s shoulders.

 “1, 2, 3, lift!” Dipper said and lifted Bill’s body up with all of his strength.

 Teresa did the same and was surprised to find how heavy Bill was. He was a full-sized man after all. But she knew that she and Dipper could manage to carry him back to the Mystery Shack.

 Before they started on their journey through the woods carrying an unconscious demon, Teresa glanced back at the summoning circle.

  _The jellybeans were gone._

 “So what do you think Ford is going to do?” Teresa asked as they awkwardly carried Bill through the dark forest. If anyone caught them right now, it would look very suspicious. Hopefully, no cops were out patrolling the forest at 1:00 am.

 “Probably kill him,” Dipper said matter-of-factly.

 Teresa let out a choking sound and blinked. Was he serious?

 “W-What?! But he’s like, a person now! At least I think he is...?” Teresa stuttered and studied Bill’s unconscious face. Yep, he definitely looked human, a handsome one even, despite those demonic cat-like eyes she saw earlier. A drop of red blood trickled down his nose from her punch.

 “You weren’t here when Weirdmageddon went down Teresa, you have no idea how much destruction and pain Bill caused. I still have nightmares today,” Dipper said and frowned.

 That caused Teresa to fall silent. Dipper was right, she had no idea. Tonight was her first time ever encountered the dream demon. All she knew was that Bill Cipher caused her friends a lot of pain, and she despised him for that.

 At last, they exited out of the forest and the lights of the Mystery Shack grew closer.

 It was time to discover Bill’s fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh-oh, it looks like Teresa and Dipper are in a bit of a pickle. 
> 
> Bill Cipher is back from the dead! And he has a shocking new human form. 
> 
> How will Ford and the others react to his return? What will Bill do when he wakes up?
> 
> All will be revealed in the next chapter...


	3. A Not-so-Warm Welcome

Dipper and Teresa carried Bill Cipher’s unconscious body into the Mystery Shack’s kitchen. Dipper swore when his back bumped into a counter, and Teresa shooshed him. It was 1 am and everyone in the Shack was sound asleep, at least that’s what they thought.

The light to the kitchen was suddenly flipped on, which caused Dipper and Teresa to jump and almost drop Bill.  
Teresa and Dipper turned around to find Mabel standing at the doorway in her pajamas with a glass of water in her hand.

“Uh...Mabel-,” Dipper began.

“GRUNCLE STAN! FORD! TERESA AND DIPPER HAVE A DEAD BODY! COME CHECK THIS OUT!” Mabel yelled at the top of her lungs.

Dipper and Teresa both groaned in sync as they laid Bill’s body onto the kitchen table.

Great, they were going to have to deal with this tonight.

It didn’t take long for Stan to stumble tiredly into the kitchen, also in his pajamas.

“Ugh. No dead bodies in the house kids."

“He’s not dead! Just unconscious!” Dipper quickly said.

“He sure looks dead! And handsome! Why is he wearing your clothes Dipper?” Mabel asked as she leaned down to poke Bill’s face.

Ford was the last to enter into the kitchen and was the only one not in his pajamas. He must have fallen asleep at his desk again.

“What the hell is going on here?” Ford asked and eyed the unconscious body lying limply on the kitchen table.

“W-We can explain! I and Teresa were performing a summoning ritual-,” Dipper began.

“You WHAT?!” Ford shouted angrily, which made everyone flinch. It wasn’t often he yelled.

“Just hear us out! We were trying to summoning the _‘All Knowing’_ Axolotl to get answers on why everything is disappearing-,” Teresa said but was cut off like Dipper.

“Everything is disappearing?!” Mabel exclaimed and looked at Ford with surprise.

“You didn’t tell me that,” Stan grumbled and looked at his twin brother with a hurt expression.

“That’s not important now! We performed the ritual and...and...,” Dipper stared at Bill and wrapped his arms around himself as if trying to protect himself from the situation at hand.  
“We kind of...brought Bill Cipher back to life. But then something really weird happened and now he looks like that."

Mabel gasped and quickly fled to hide behind Stan and distance herself from Bill as much as possible.

“So, that’s Bill Cipher?” Ford asked and pointed at the body.

Dipper anxiously shuffled his feet.  
“Y-Yes,”

“Well, let’s get this over with,” Ford said and reached inside his trench coat, producing a handgun.

“Woah Woah Woah!” Stan interrupted and grabbed his brother’s wrist.  
“Let’s not do something crazy, Ford! The kids are here, and I don’t want some demon’s brain matter splattered all over the kitchen,” Stan said and forcibly lowered Ford’s hand with the gun.

“They are not children anymore Stan, and they know how much of a monster he is,” Ford rationalized and glared into his brother’s eyes.

“Calm down guys! How about we have a family meeting and decide what to do together,” Mabel offered and gently placed both of her hands on her Uncle’s shoulders.

Teresa let out a sigh of relief at Mabel’s intervention. You could always leave it to her to be the family mediator.

Ford looked at his nephew and sighed. Stan let go of his brother’s wrist as he put the gun away.

“Alright. Teresa, Dipper, lock that monstrosity in Soo’s and Melody’s bedroom. Then meet us in the living room,” Ford said and left the room.

The tense atmosphere was lifted a little.

Teresa and Dipper hauled Bill into the bedroom and dropped him onto the bed.  
They made sure the door was locked tight before meeting the others in the living room.

“I still can’t believe that little punk is alive...I thought I punched him out of existence!” Stan said from where he was sitting on the couch.

“I thought he was gone for good too, but apparently it’s more complicated than just erasing him from your mind,” Ford said from where he was leaning against the wall.

“But why is he not a floating Dorito? Why is he a human?” Mabel asked and scratched her head.

“Is he possessing a body?” Stan asked and looked up at Dipper and Teresa as they entered the room.

“I don’t think so. He _literally transformed_ into a human in front of our eyes. It was disgusting,” Teresa said with a shiver.

“He actually seemed surprised to become a human, even a little bit scared. Here’s the paper with the summoning instructions I found. I’m pretty sure it was actually written by Bill in the past to trick people,” Dipper said and handed the paper to Ford.

Ford studied the paper with a frown.  
“No...I remember writing this, and I know for a fact I was not possessed by Bill at the time. It just doesn’t make sense why it would bring Bill back to life and not summon The Axolotl."

“Well, Bill seemed more surprised to be back than we were surprised to see him. He tried to run away, but I knocked him out cold,” Teresa said and looked down at her fist. It didn’t hurt as bad now, but it was still sore.

“Haha! Thatta girl!” Stan said with a laugh  
and smiled at Teresa. Wow, Stan praising her? That was a first, and of course, it was for punching someone.

“I guess we won’t get any answers until he wakes up,” Ford said with a sigh.

“But what are we going to do with him?” Mabel asked.

There was silence as everyone thought quietly to themselves.

“I still say we end him,” Ford said gruffly.

“And you think that will work? You literally erased my mind and deleted him from existence, but he still managed to come back! Who says he won’t do it again?” Stan said.

“What if we just throw him in jail?” Dipper suggested.

“That won’t work. That crafty bastard will just escape or sweet talk his way out,” Ford said.

“What do you think Mabel?” Stan asked.

“BLARGH! I don’t know?! Feed him to the gnomes or something?!” Mabel said and pulled at her long hair in frustration.

Another wave of silence fell over the room.

“What do you think Teresa?” Ford suddenly asked.

Teresa’s eyes widened in surprise. She didn’t know she had a say in the matter.

“Well, I...I think there is more going on here than we know. I already told Dips this, but last night I had a dream where I met the Axolotl. It warned me that something was coming and I had to keep an ‘open heart and mind.’ I am piecing everything together, and I think it was referring to Bill returning."

“So what are you trying to say?” Ford asked and raised a bushy eyebrow.

Teresa cleared her throat.

“What I’m saying is...I think we need to keep him here with us. And before you say anything! I know it sounds crazy. But I think The Axolotl sent him here and he has turned him into a human for a reason. I think it’s safest if we keep a watch over him at the Shack."

Everyone’s faces were unreadable as they processed her words.

“I don’t think I’m comfortable with that three-sided lunatic living under the same roof as us. He almost destroyed the world, tortured me, and would have killed Dipper and Mable without any mercy,” Ford said and folded his arms defiantly.

“I agree with Ford, but Teresa has a point! Bill’s a human now, which means no weird demonic powers. Gruncle Stan and you are tough old men, Teresa literally knocked him out a second ago, and I and Mabel are old enough to handle things ourselves now,” Dipper pointed out.

“I guess I agree with Dipper and Teresa. You said The Axolotl was an _‘All Knowing’_ being, right? So I don’t think it would send Bill here knowing he would hurt us again. Plus, I would totally trust a giant, pink, talking axolotl with my life,” Mabel said and smiled.

“Hell, why not keep the little psychopath captive here? As long as I get to make his life a living hell!” Stan said with an evil cackle.

Now everyone looked at Ford.

Ford sighed and uncrossed his arms.  
“Fine, but I’m making the rules-,”

Everyone froze when there was suddenly a crash and the sound of breaking glass from the other room.

Everyone immediately got up and ran to the bedroom Bill was locked in.

Ford unlocked the door and rushed into the room first with his gun at the ready. Teresa entered the room after Stan and found that Bill was nowhere to be seen. The window was broken and shattered glass was scattered all over the carpet.

“The madman jumped out the window!“ Stan exclaimed.

“He must have fled into the woods! If we hurry we can catch him!” Dipper said.

“Quick, follow me,” Ford said and lead everyone into the kitchen. From a locked cabinet he pulled out three hunting rifles and handed them to Stan and Teresa, keeping the last one for himself.

“Are you guys seriously going to shoot him?!” Mable asked and stared at the rifles in horror.

“What? No! These guns are loaded with tranquilizers,” Ford said, which made Mabel (and Teresa) sigh in relief.

“We’ll track him down by splitting up. Mabel, you’re with Stan. Dipper, you’re with me. And Teresa...,” Ford said and looked at her with a frown. She was the odd one out.

Teresa smiled and cocked the rifle.  
“I think I’m fine on my own Mr. Pines.”

“Alright then. Call on the walkie talkies if you find the little devil,” Ford said and walked out the door.

“It’s Bill Hunting Season!!” Mabel shouted and ran into the night with Stan.

“Please promise me you’ll be careful Teresa,” Dipper said with pleading eyes.

“I’ll be fine. He’s just some dude with a concussion blindly running through the forest at night. Now go with Ford,” Teresa said and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder before walking out the door.

 

* * *

 

 The forest was peaceful and a light breeze blew through the trees. Fireflies dotted the underbrush and the call of an owl could be heard from somewhere in the distance. Teresa slowly walked through the dark forest with her flashlight attached to the hunting rifle, even though the full moon provided plenty of light. She could only hear the usual nighttime sounds of the forest but was hyper-alert to any sudden sounds or movements. 

Holding a hunting rifle again reminded her of the hunting trips she used to go on with her dad and brothers. But this time instead of hunting deer, she was hunting a dream demon.

She suddenly heard the sound of snapping branches in the distance and pointed her rifle towards the sound. It could have just been a deer or squirrel, but she was not going to take any chances. Teresa slowly navigated through the trees towards where the sound came from and froze when she spotted a tall figure with its back facing towards her.

_Bill._

Teresa aimed the rifle at his back and her finger itched over the trigger. However, she paused when she noticed what Bill was standing in front of.

It was a stone statue of him, or rather his old triangular self, with its hand extended as if offering a handshake. She guessed it must have been there for a long time due to the moss and dirt that covered it.

Bill reached out and touched the overgrown statue's hand. Teresa waited in anticipation for something to happen, but nothing did.

“You know, it’s weird to stare at your own dead body,” Bill suddenly said, which made Teresa jump and almost fire the rifle.

How did he know she was there? Was she really that loud and clumsy?

“Put your hands up and don’t move,” Teresa commanded and stepped out of the shadows.

Bill turned around to face her with a wide grin on his face.  
“Hello there Honey Bee! I’ve gotta tell ya, you’ve got one hell of a right hook!” Bill said with a chuckle and pointed at his left eye.

It was swollen shut and bruised.

That made Teresa feel even more proud of herself.  
“I thought you looked better with only one eye,” Teresa taunted.

Bill kept the creepy grin plastered on his face and his haunting yellow slitted eyes pierced into hers as he took a step towards her.

Suddenly, Teresa realized how much taller he was than her. Maybe going out alone was a mistake...

“Don’t fucking move! One more step and its lights out!” Teresa warned and aimed the rifle higher. As Bill stepped into a patch of moonlight, she got a better look at him. Dried crusted blood still covered his nose, and his clothes were ripped and torn from jumping through a smashed window and running through the woods. She could make out some bloody cuts and scrapes on his arms and fingers.

Bill froze as she commanded, but his smirk did not falter.  
“Well aren’t you a feisty little mortal! Where did Pine Tree pick you up? Bitch-R-Us?” Bill said and burst out into another fit of high-pitched laughter.

God his laugh was annoying.

Teresa suddenly took a step towards Bill.  
A look of fear flashed over Bill’s face as he raised his hands and took a step back.

Teresa smirked.

“I knew it. You’re _afraid_ , aren’t you?” Teresa said and took another step forward.

Bill took another step back, and the back of his legs hit the stone statue. The impact caused him to clumsily fall backward and land hard on his behind.

“You’ve been transformed into a human and your powers are gone. You are stranded on Earth and are taken prisoner by the people who defeated you five years ago. You were terrified enough to break a window and flee into the forest without anywhere to go or a plan,” Teresa said and shook her head with a chuckle.  
Now she almost felt pity for the demon. He looked so beat up and helpless...

Bill’s smile turned into a frown and he glared up at Teresa.  
“What what the hell do you think you know about me toots?”

“More than you think,” Teresa said and slowly lowered the rifle.

_“Sixty degrees that comes in threes._  
_Watches from within the birch trees._  
_Saw his own dimension burn._  
_Misses home and can’t return._  
_Says he’s happy. He’s a liar._  
_Blame the arson for the fire._  
_If he wants to shirk the blame,_  
_He’ll have to invoke my name._  
_One way to absolve his crime._  
_A different form, a different time,”_  

Teresa watched Bill's cat-like eyes widen in surprise. 

“How-?”

“The Axolotl told me. It also told me to keep an open heart and mind, so that’s why I want to help you,” Teresa said and held her hand out to Bill. She felt like she was making a big mistake, but at the same time, it felt like the right thing to do.

Bill tensed and glared at her hand suspiciously, but then let out a sigh of defeat. The demon grabbed onto her hand and let Teresa help him up from the ground.

“Get away from him Teresa!” A voice suddenly shouted.

Teresa and Bill both whipped around to find Ford standing nearby with his rifle aimed at Bill. Dipper was standing not far behind him.

Bill immediately let go of Teresa’s hand, and the horrified expression on his tan face at the sight of Ford warned Teresa that he was about to make a break for it.

“It’s fine!” Teresa reassured and grabbed Bill’s arm to keep him from turning tail and running away again.

“Did you just shake his hand, Teresa? Please tell me you didn’t make a deal!” Dipper said in a shaky voice.

“W-What? No!” Teresa sputtered.

“Did ya see any blue flames, smart guy?” Bill scoffed.

Ford frowned when his eyes rested on the stone statue of Bill’s old form.  
“Of course out of all the places you would come here. What are you planning?”

“Take a chill pill before you have a heart attack Sixer! I was just paying my respects to my dead body here!” Bill said and gestured to the statue as the shit-eating grin returned to his face.

“His powers are gone Mr. Pines, he can’t do anything. He’s agreed to come back peacefully,” Teresa said and squeezed Bill’s arm _hard_ as a warning that he better agree.

Bill winced and nodded his head in agreement.

“Alright then. Now get away from her and start walking, monster,” Ford commanded and motioned with his hunting rifle for Bill to step aside.

Bill obeyed and created some distance between himself and Teresa with his hands raised.

“Stan, Mabel, we found him. Meet us back at the shack,” Ford said into his walkie talkie and poked the tip of his gun into Bill’s back to get him to start walking.

Dipper immediately rushed over and hugged Teresa.  
“Are you ok? Did he hurt you? I thought it was all over when I saw you two holding hands,” Dipper said and held back the tears threatening his eyes. He couldn’t help it, Bill had hurt his family and friends so many times, and now he could of possibly hurt someone else he loved.

Teresa was surprised by the sudden hug. Teresa sighed and patted Dipper’s back. Wow, he was more traumatized than she thought.  
“I told you I can handle myself Dips! I was just helping the idiot up because he tripped over his own two feet again."

“Now come on, let’s catch up with your Uncle before he decides to kill Bill,” Teresa said with a smile as Dipper let go of her with an embarrassed blush on his face. 

 

* * *

 

Finally, everyone was back at the Mystery Shack.

It was 2 am and everyone looked like zombies as they stood in the kitchen. Bill was surprisingly silent as he sat at the kitchen table. Ford was keeping a close watch on Bill and was still firmly holding his hunting rifle. It was like he was just waiting for Bill to suddenly jump up and go berserk. Dipper stood in the kitchen doorway as far from Bill as possible. He was putting on a brave face, but Teresa could tell he was actually scared. Stan seemed grumpy about the whole thing, and Mabel was staring at Bill in wonder.

“Here we go,” Teresa said as she retrieved an icepack from the freezer and walked over to Bill. She placed the pack over his swollen eye, and he immediately flinched and squirmed.

“Stay still!” Teresa ordered and struggled to keep the icepack over his face as he turned his head this way and that away like a child refusing to eat their vegetables.

“Ngh! It’s cold and it hurts!” Bill complained.

Teresa grew impatient and grabbed his arm in a vice grip to get him to stay still.  
“Stay still and hold this to your face or I will give you a matching black eye."

That made Bill stay put.

“Fine...,” Bill grumbled and grabbed the icepack from Teresa and held it up to his left eye.

The whole scene made Stan and Mabel chuckle to themselves, and Bill shot them his best one-eyed glare.

“I’m sorry, but this is just too good! He looks so pathetic!” Stan said with a laugh.

“May I remind you that I once ruled over this _pitiful_ world?!” Bill bragged as Teresa rolled her eyes and wiped the dried blood from his nose.

“If I remember correctly, you only managed to take over Gravity Falls,” Mabel stated with a smug grin from where she was sitting on the kitchen counter.

“Oh yeah, Shooting Star? Well who tricked you and trapped you in a-,” Bill began.

“Shut up guys! I’m trying to work here! You can talk about the good old days later,” Teresa interrupted as she dug through the first aid kit and retrieved a bottle of disinfectant.

She poured some onto a cotton swab before applying it to Bill’s cuts on his arms.

Bill let out a yelp of pain and almost tipped his chair over.  
“What the hell toots?! Are you trying to kill me?!”

Because of his dramatic reactions to pain, Teresa guessed that in his last form he didn’t experience pain often.

“Do **NOT** call me toots again. I’m disinfecting your wounds so they don’t get infected! It’s supposed to sting, so stop being a big baby! You’re lucky you don’t need stitches! That would hurt more,” Teresa barked and continued treating his cuts and scrapes despite his squirms and whimpers of protest.

“Don’t think pain is so hilarious now, huh?” Dipper taunted from the doorway.

“Hey! It’s not my fault human bodies are so _fragile_ and _insufficient!_ You meatsacks bruise so easily and your bones snap like twigs! And don’t even get me started on how _hysterically meager_ and-,”

“Why are you like this Cipher?” Ford suddenly asked and interrupted Bill’s tirade.

Bill grinned and let out a laugh.  
“Oh boy! If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me that-,”

“That’s not what I mean! Why are you a human?” Ford said and gestured to Bill’s body.

Teresa could feel Bill tense up at the question as she applied bandages over his treated wounds.

“You tell me Fordsy! I invoked the frilly know-it-all’s name before you deleted Fez’s memory over there and banished me from existence. It sent me five years into the future and turned me into a human. I’m pretty sure the Salamander did it as some sort of sick punishment,” Bill explained and poked one of the bandages on his arm.

“Don’t touch that,” Teresa scolded and swatted his hand away before he could peel off the bandage.

“Well it’s more like The Axolotl is punishing us by sending you here,” Stan said grumpily.

Bill shot him another glare.

“Hey, I don’t want to be here any more than you want me here!” 

“Well now we are stuck with you and you are stuck with us. We made a decision before you pulled your little stunt, and we decided that we are going to keep you in Gravity Falls with us so we can keep an eye on you,” Ford said

“There is no way I’m staying in this hick town!” Bill scoffed.

“Where would you go anyways? Would you wander the streets like a hobo?” Mabel said with a snort.

“You don’t have a choice Cipher! It’s either you stay here or I _kill_ you,” Ford growled.

“Sheesh, fine! I didn’t know you missed me _that_ much Sixer!” Bill said sarcastically.

Teresa sighed. Good, at least he was being _somewhat_ cooperative.

Ford set down the rifle on the counter and stood in front of Bill.

Bill gulped when Ford suddenly got in his face.

Ford jabbed Bill hard in the chest with his finger.  
“Listen closely demon. You are going to follow _my_ rules or face punishment.  
Rule number one: you will **never** leave the Mystery Shack alone or without an escort. I don’t want you pulling any shit and running away again.  
Rule number two: you will obey me and Stan. That means doing whatever we tell you to do without any resistance or questions.  
Rule number three: you will stay the **hell** away from the kids. If I catch you trying to manipulate or hurt them, you are dead,”

Bill leaned back in the chair as far as possible from Ford and silently glared at the elderly man, but fear was obvious in his cat-like eyes.

“Do I make myself clear?” Ford growled.

Damn, Teresa didn’t know Ford could be this scary. He could pull the ‘strict-parent’ thing off well.

“As clear as day,” Bill squeaked.

“Good. Now thank Teresa for patching your evil ass up,” Ford said and backed away.

Bill’s attention turned to Teresa and the shit-eating grin was back on his face.  
“Thanks a lot for fixing this meatsack up Honey Bee! Even though you were the one that roughed it up in the first place-"

“My name is Teresa, **not** _Honey Bee,_ ” Teresa corrected and frowned.  
Would it be wrong if she punched that grin off of his face and this time broke his nose?

“Teresa is an old lady name! A young lass like yourself deserves a nickname that doesn’t sound like you live in a nursing home!” Bill mocked.

“Bill is the name of a middle-aged man working a crappy office job who has been divorced three times and is stuck paying child support on kids that don’t love him back,” Teresa taunted back.

“Ooooh!!! Burn!” Mabel shouted and high-fived Teresa.

Everyone but Bill burst out laughing.  
Based on his taken-back expression, Teresa knew the dream demon was not used to being laughed at.  
Good, maybe that would lower his fat ego a little.

“Ha! It’s only going to get worse from here Bill! I’m making you work at the Mystery Shack to pay for that window you broke,” Stan said with a grin.

“I would rather die than work in this dump!” Bill exclaimed.

“Ok,” Ford said and reached inside his trench coat pocket.

“Just kidding!” Bill quickly said and raised his hands.

“As much as I love bullying Bill, can we finish this meeting when it’s not 2 am?” Dipper asked from the doorway with a yawn.

“Alright, you all go back to bed. I’ll stay up and babysit our new guest,” Ford said and sat down at the kitchen table across from Bill.

Bill seemed less than thrilled.

 

* * *

 

Teresa trudged back to her RV and collapsed onto her bed, not even bothering to change out of her clothes.

She was hoping The Axolotl would visit her in her dreams again to further explain the whole bizarre situation that unfolded, but her sleep was disappointingly dreamless.

Teresa woke up and squinted her eyes from the morning sunlight pouring through her window. She glanced at her alarm clock to see it was 10 am.  
She felt like she could sleep another five hours, but she forced herself to roll out of bed.

After peeling her clothes from yesterday off and taking a quick shower, she changed into a comfy pair of jean shorts, a white t-shirt that read: ’THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS’ in red lettering, and the same red baseball cap she wore yesterday.

Her stomach grumbled loudly as she grabbed her father’s Police Force jacket and jumped down the RV’s steps.  
It was a nice day like yesterday, but a little bit warmer.

Walking into the Mystery Shack’s kitchen, the smell of pancakes immediately hit Teresa’s nose and her stomach rumbled.  
Stan was at the stove flipping pancakes, and Mable was sitting at the table doodling in her sketchbook.

“I’m guessing Bill didn’t jump out another window last night and run into the woods?” Teresa asked with a smirk and sat down next to Mable and peeked at what she was drawing. It was a colorful sketch of a new fashion design she was working on.

Stan laughed.

“The little freak was surprisingly quiet and cooperative. Probably because Ford was watching him like a hawk until I woke up. I finally convinced that insomniac to go take a nap."

“Teresa your hand is bruised!” Mabel suddenly exclaimed and grabbed Teresa’s right hand to examine it.

Teresa looked down and was surprised to see that Mabel was right, her knuckles were black and blue.

“Aw man! I keep on forgetting how hard I punched him."

Stan snorted at that from the stove.

“I’ll get you some pain relievers!” Mabel offered and sprang out of her chair.  
She returned with a bottle of pills and a glass of water.  
Teresa was about to swallow a pill when Bill’s loud voice carried into the kitchen.

“And that’s when I threw him into the _Dimension of Eternal Suffering!_ ” Bill said with a laugh as he followed Dipper into the kitchen, who had an 'I’m-so-done' look on his face.

Bill had changed out of the ripped clothes he was wearing last night and into a new set of Dipper’s clothes, which consisted of gray joggers, a yellow t-shirt with a periodic table on it that read: ‘I MAKE PUNS BUT ONLY PERIODICALLY’ and black converse. It was almost humorous to see the dream demon in Dipper's attire.   
The joggers ran short on his long legs and the shirt was too tight on his upper body. Bill's messy blonde hair from last night was now neatly combed through, and he was wearing Stan’s eyepatch to conceal his black eye.

“I managed to find some clothes and shoes that somewhat fit him, but my jeans didn’t fit him at all. I don’t understand why The Axolotl had to make him so tall. He literally asked me 'how the weather was down there' five times this morning," Dipper complained and opened the fridge to get some orange juice.

Bill chuckled mischievously. 

“Does that mean we get to go on a shopping trip?!” Mabel said excitedly with sparkling eyes.

“I sure hope so! Pine Tree has the worst fashion taste!” Bill said with a snicker and sat down next to Teresa.

“I know right?! He dresses like a nerd who lives in his parent’s basement!” Mabel agreed with a laugh

“Guys stop picking on Dips! He just has a unique way of expressing himself with cheesy t-shirts,” Teresa said and smiled when Dipper’s face turned red and he choked on the glass of orange juice he was drinking.

“Says the woman who wears a political t-shirt every day,” Stan said and walked over with a plate of fluffy pancakes and set in on the table.

“Stancakes! I missed these!” Mabel said happily and scooped some onto her plate. She then proceeded to drown them in maple syrup, whipped cream, and powdered sugar.

Stan gave Bill a once-over and sighed.  
“Alright. Teresa and Mabel, tomorrow you will go to the mall and get him some clothes. But that means he has to work extra hard today to pay me back!”

“Why do I have to take him to the mall?” Teresa asked through a mouthful of pancakes.

“Because you are a _girl_ , and girls are good at shopping! I also need you to teach him how to run the gift shop today,” Stan said and took a sip of his coffee.

Teresa groaned and felt like smashing her head into the stack of Stancakes. Why was it her job to babysit Bill? He looked like he was in his 20s, couldn’t he handle himself? But then again he acted so immaturely and dramatic...

“Ha! Looks like we are going to become good pals Honey Bee!” Bill said with a smile and nudged Teresa.

Teresa immediately jabbed Bill in the side with her elbow, which gained her a satisfying yelp of pain from him.

“How am I supposed to do anything when I’m in this much pain? My throat feels like the Sahara desert and my head is pounding! Why don’t mortals just regenerate?” Bill pouted and dramatically gestured to his eyepatch.

“Probably because we are not _extradimensional gods_ , so get used to it,” Teresa said and rolled her eyes.

“You need to stay hydrated! Drink some water and take two of these,” Mabel said scooted a glass of water and the bottle of pain relievers across the table to Bill.

Bill eyed the bottle skeptically.  
“I’m not putting anything in this body that I’m not familiar with."

“Oh my god, it’s medicine! You take it to make yourself better! For someone who calls himself the _‘All Seeing Eye,’_ you don’t know that much,” Teresa said and pushed the bottle more towards Bill.

“Oh! I volunteer to force-feed it to him like a dog!” Stan said with a dark chuckle.

“Fine. But this better not kill me,” the demon said and popped the pills into his mouth. He then picked up the glass of water and poured the entire thing over his face, drenching his shirt and spilling it everywhere in the process.

“What the hell?!” Teresa exclaimed and leaned away as the water spilled everywhere.

Everyone gawked at Bill.  
They were definitely not expecting that.

“What? Humans don’t drink from your eyes?” Bill asked.

“No you silly goose! We drink from our mouths! Somebody missed anatomy class in high school!” Mabel said and burst out laughing.

“That just brought back bad memories. I’ll go get a new shirt,” Dipper said with a sigh and walked out of the room.

“You just love causing messes, don’t you?” Stan groaned and got up to get a towel.

It looked like living with their new houseguest was going to be interesting.

 

* * *

 

Teresa gave Bill the grand tour of the gift shop and showed him how to work the cash register and stock the merchandise.  
Throughout the whole training process, Bill stood way to close to her and was basically breathing down her neck.  
Did this guy not know what personal space was?

The day was slow with only a few families of tourists visited the gift shop. Teresa was afraid of what Bill would do or say if he interacted with the customers, so she ordered him to organize the shop. 

Teresa sat at the counter with her head in her hands with a bored expression on her face as she watched Bill stack the mugs into a neat pyramid.

The bell to the door suddenly rang, and Pacifica Northwest walked into the shop.

Pacifica was the same age as Dipper and Mabel and was one of Mabel’s best friends. She was a stunningly beautiful girl with long blonde hair and an impeccable fashion sense. Today she wore a purple turtleneck and a pair of expensive white jeans. She was also one of the most popular girls in town, probably because her parents were loaded.

“Hey, Pacifica! Are you here for Mabel?” Teresa asked with a smile.

Pacifica removed her oversized sunglasses and cast a cold gaze over Teresa.  
At first, Teresa thought Pacifica was just a bitch, but she quickly learned that was not the case. She saw Teresa as a love rival over Dipper, which was strange because Teresa never showed an interest in him.

“Naturally,” Pacifica said and raised an eyebrow when Bill walked over with a broken mug in his hands.

“The handle just kinda snapped off,” Bill said and set the shattered mug on the counter.

“Wow, when did you guys start hiring pirates? That’s like, super progressive,” Pacifica said with a smirk.

“Oh hey, I remember you! I shuffled the functions of every hole in your father’s face! That was hilarious!” Bill said with a laugh.

Pacifica’s eyes widened in recognition at his voice and high-pitched laughter.

_Oh crap._

Teresa didn’t think about how the townspeople would react to Bill Cipher’s return.

“Sorry I made you wait, Pacifica! I got a glue gun stuck to my sweater again!” Mable said as she walked into the gift shop.

Pacifica immediately ran to hide behind her friend.  
“Ew! Why is that psychopath back?! And why does he look like a human pirate?” Pacifica asked.

“Oh yeah, I forgot to warn you. It’s a long story that I’ll explain later, but basically, he’s a human now, and don’t worry! He can’t hurt anyone,” Mabel explained

Bill already seemed bored by the whole exchange and went back to stacking the merchandise into pyramids.

“Do I have to remind you that he _traumatized_ us for life and was the reason why my family lost so much money and had to sell our house to a _hillbilly?!_ We had to move to our second house, which only has six bedrooms and one pool!” Pacifica said and glared at Bill’s back.

“I know I know, but you can’t go telling everyone in town about this. I don’t want people showing up with torches and pitchforks,” Mabel said and looked at her friend with big, pleading eyes.

Teresa chuckled. She could totally see the people of Gravity Falls showing up as a mob with pitchforks and torches and demanding that Bill is burned at the stake.

“Ugh, fine. But I don’t want him anywhere near me or my family!” Pacifica said and put her hands on her hips.

“Teresa! Do you know where-oh hey Pacifica,” Dipper said as he walked into the room.

Pacifica whipped around at Dipper’s voice. She smiled flirtatiously and her cheeks dusted pink.  
“Hey, Dipper~! I and Mabel were just about to leave to go mini golfing. You should totally come."

“Sorry, but I and Teresa have plans tonight. We are going to watch the _Back to the Future_ marathon! Maybe some other time,” Dipper said with a smile.

Pacifica shot Teresa a glare.

“Don’t feel obliged to stay and watch TV with me Dips! You should go hang out with friends,” Teresa said and looked at Dipper, and then to Pacifica. Was Dipper really that oblivious that Pacifica was into him?

“No! No! I’ve been looking forward to this! I’m even going to make popcorn on the stove!” Dipper said with a frantic wave of his hands.

“Oh, ok. Well, you are welcome to come if you change your mind! Let’s go, Mabel, I want to get there before the night rush,” Pacifica said and shot Teresa one last glare before walking out.

Teresa sighed.  
Great, now she was apart of drama she didn’t want to be in.

“See you guys later! Nice pyramids Bill!” Mabel said before following Pacifica out.

Teresa watched through the window as they got into a white convertible and drove away into the sunset.

“Ya know, I always liked Shooting Star. She meets my required level of weirdness,” Bill said with a smile.

“You better stay away from my sister Bill,” Dipper warned with a glare.

“Jeez! I don’t like her like that! For having such a big head, you really are dumb,” Bill shot back.

“Dipper! Teresa! I need you to come and look at something in the lab,” Ford called from the other room.

“Coming!” Dipper shouted back.

“Go ahead and close down the shop Bill, and don’t break anything else,” Teresa said to Bill before following Dipper out.

 

* * *

 

Teresa and Dipper walked into the underground lab to find Ford hunched over a microscope.

“What’s under the scope?” Teresa asked and peeked over Ford’s shoulder.

“Dipper, do you remember the samples we gathered yesterday?” Ford asked and looked up.

“Yeah! Why did we collect Percepshrooms again?” Dipper asked and scratched his chin.

“I wanted to get a closer look at them, especially since they haven’t disappeared yet. As expected, I found something. Take a look,” Ford said and stepped back from the microscope

Teresa looked into the microscope. It took a while for her to focus on the magnified purple fungus and understand what she was seeing.

There was something coating the fungus. It looked similar to colorful TV static and seemed to be slowly spreading over the mushroom.

It was like a glitch in the universe.

Suddenly, the blurry coating began to speed up and consume the entire Percepshroom. Before she knew it, the purple fungus had disappeared in the blink of an eye.

“What?” Teresa gasped and stepped back from the microscope.

“It just...disappeared?!” Dipper exclaimed.

“That strange, staticky substance coating the Percepshrooms appears to be the cause to why everything strange and paranormal is disappearing. I don’t know exactly what it is, so I plan to somehow separate it from the mushrooms and study it,” Ford said and held up a jar containing more purple fungus.

“It must be some sort of leftover substance from when our dimension and the Nightmare Realm clashed. It’s like time and space was so disturbed by the two dimensions meeting, that it messed up the natural order of things,” Teresa said and furrowed her brow.

“But how do we stop it from spreading?” Dipper asked.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Now listen closely kids,” Ford said and leaned in. Dipper and Teresa also leaned in, like a football huddle.  
“I don’t want Cipher finding out about this. It’s suspicious enough that he turned up in the middle of this, and I don’t want him using it as an advantage for his schemes.”

Teresa and Dipper both nodded in agreement.

This sticky situation was all Bill’s fault anyway.

 

* * *

 

 

Teresa smiled and felt her stomach rumble when Dipper walked into the dark living room with a huge bowl of popcorn. The only source of light in the room was the glowing TV.

“You put extra butter on it, right?” Teresa asked as Dipper plopped down on the couch next to her.

“Who do you think I am? Of course I did!” Dipper said with a laugh

Teresa took a bite of one of the fluffy kernels and hummed in approval. It had the perfect amount of salt and butter. Stove-cooked popcorn was really the best.

“Oh! It’s starting!” Teresa said excitedly and pointed at the TV as the title of the first _Back to the Future_ movie flashed across the screen.

“Man, I missed these movies! I haven’t watched them in years,” Teresa said and crammed a handful of warm, buttery popcorn into her mouth.

“It’s one of my favorite classic movies! Next time we are watching The X-Files,” Dipper said and popped a kernel into his mouth.

“I’m down,” Teresa said with a smile as the first scene of the movie began.

As the movie progressed and Teresa watched the glowing screen, Dipper kept on glancing at Teresa, specifically at her hand that rested on the couch’s cushion. He was about to reach for it, when...

“What are you guys watching?” Bill suddenly asked and sat down on the couch between Dipper and Teresa.

Dipper let out a frustrated huff and scooted as far away from Bill as possible.

“Oh, hi Bill. We are watching the _Back to the Future_ marathon,” Teresa explained. She was slightly annoyed by Bill’s sudden entrance, but she guessed that the demonic entity had nothing better to do and was probably bored out of his mind.

“ _Back to the Future_ , huh? Sounds interesting!” Bill said with a smile and stole the bowl of popcorn from Dipper, who let out a defensive ‘hey!’

“Don’t you have anyone else to go bug?” Dipper asked in an annoyed tone.

“Nope! Fez told me to scram before he hit me over the head with his newspaper and Fordsy said I wasn’t allowed down in the lab,” Bill said and shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth  
“Hey! This stuff is good!”

“He can watch TV with us Dips. It’s better than him running around and causing trouble,” Teresa said with a sigh.

“See Pine Tree? _Honey Bee_ over here enjoys my company, you should feel the same!” Bill said with a laugh.

Teresa just rolled her eyes. It appeared that there was no stopping Bill from calling her by the new nickname. 

“Fine...,” Dipper grumbled and slouched down in the couch.  
His chance of finally making a move on Teresa was ruined.

Throughout the first two movies, Bill continuously kept on pointing out how cheesy the special effects were and how the use of time traveling was completely wrong. He even told the story of how he once possessed a time traveler. With each question and statement Teresa had to answer, she grew more irritated.

“Why the are effects so bad?”

“Because it was made in the 1980s.”

“Did those idiots really think a car would transport them to the Future?”

“It’s a movie.”

“Why is that kid wearing a life vest? What is this, the Titanic?”

“Because that was the fashion style back then.”

Dipper grew so irritated by Bill’s constant comments, that he said he was going to bed early and left.  
By the third movie, Teresa warned that if Bill didn’t shut up and just watch the movie, she was going to duck tape his mouth shut.  
They sat in silence through the rest of the marathon.

Teresa realized that she had fallen asleep. Her heavy green eyes could make out that the clock on the wall showed it was 1 am. The marathon was long over, and the TV was still on and playing a commercial. Strands of curly black hair covered her face, and her head rested on someone’s shoulder. She immediately thought it was Dipper’s, but then she remembered that he went upstairs a while ago...

Realization hit her, and she was about to move away when she heard a gruff voice.

“Get away from her, Cipher.”

_It_ was _Ford._

“Wow! That’s cold Sixer! When’s the last time you slept? You look like a zombie!” Bill said with a dark chuckle.

There was a creak in the floorboards as Ford came closer, and Teresa felt the shoulder under her head tense.

“I know what you are doing, and it’s not fooling me.”

“Really? Enlighten me!”

“You are manipulating Teresa! She’s the only one that wasn’t here for your reign of terror, and she is unaware of how manipulative you are. She’s the perfect target for whatever you’re planning”

“And what exactly am I planning, smart guy?”

“I-Look! Just stay away from her or you will really wish you never came back.”

Bill laughed.  
“Aw, Fordsy! Don’t get your panties in a bunch!”

“YOU-“

“WILL YOU BOTH SHUT IT?! IT'S THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT! GO TO SLEEP!” Stan’s voice shouted from his bedroom.

There was a stiff silence, and Teresa could imagine Bill and Ford glaring at each other.

“If I suspect any funny business, you’re dead. Got it?” Ford growled in a quieter voice.

“Got it,” Bill said in a much more submissive tone.

Ford’s heavy strides were heard all the way to the basement.

Bill released a relieved sigh and leaned a bit against Teresa’s side.

“Hey, Honey Bee? You’re terrible at pretending to sleep.”

Teresa jumped at the thought of Bill knowing she was awake for the whole thing. She quickly removed her head from his shoulder and scooted away on the couch.

“How did you know?”

He gave her a deadpan look.  
“Dream demon.”

“Right...”

An awkward silence fell between them.

“I should go,” Teresa said and quickly got up.

Bill didn’t say anything else as she left the dark room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I probably reread this chapter and edited it about 100 times. I'm still getting used to operating this website, so I hope the formatting is ok! I also hope I managed to capture everyone's personality in this chapter. Again, this is my first fic, so I'm kind of using it as a test-run. I'll probably go back to edit most of these chapters and the tags may change over time! Comments and critiques are warmly welcomed!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is the first piece of fanfiction I ever wrote, so of course I had to dedicate it to Gravity Falls and Bill Cipher!
> 
> I hope you enjoy it, and comments are warmly welcomed!


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